Surgical instrument.



T. A. HOPKINS.

SURGICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, 1913.

1,080,554. Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

Inventor:

b y wmw WW Atty UNITED STATFEATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS ALBERT HOPKINS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SURGICAL INSTRUMENT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS ALBERT Hor- KINS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Surgical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This device, the subject of my invention is a sound and although I have not attempted to change the shape of the instrument or to very materially alter any of the parts thereof I have added certain improvements that change to a greater or less degree the characteristics of the operation of the device making it more sure and less liable to accident caused by the maladjustment or falling away of certain of the parts.

My principal improvements reside in the means for guiding the separate parts in their relative operative motions assuring that the movement will take place to the extent and at the time desired, and in a certain means of adjustment which I have found advantageous as a means for obtaining closer operation, all of these parts and the means by which they accomplish their desirable results and functions will be set forth as the specification progresses.

The following is what I consider the best means of carrying out this invention.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 shows in side elevation a com- F pleted instrument in which my improvements have been embodied. Fig. 2 shows on a larger scale a portion of the device. This figure :is in section partly in elevation. Fig.

3 shows in perspective the knife key. Fig. 4 shows in perspective the finder key. Fig. 5 shows in perspective one of the adjusting nuts.

Similar reference numerals indicate like parts in all the figures where they appear.

WVhat may be considered one of the principal members of a device of this character is the probe 1, formed of steel or any other suitable metal or material and having its end 2, upturned and slightly tapered. This probe 1 is provided with a central longitudinal. perforation sometimes drilled out of the axial center and of a diameter to receive in close though sliding engagement a second tubular member 3, which serves as a guide Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 1, 1913.

Patented Dec. 9,1913.

Serial No. 764,741.

and holder for the knife and finder. The probe 1 is also provided with a central longitudinal slot entering from the upper edge of the probe and connecting with the perforation already described. The perforation and slot do not extend the full length of the probe but commencing at the larger end, the left shown in. Fig. 1 they continue to about the boint indicated at 1-. It is through this slot that the knife and finder will project to do their work. The slot is shown at 5 in Fig. 2.

The holder 3, before referred to has its outer end enlarged as shown at (3 and upon this enlarged end I produce a fast feeding left handed thread, between the smaller portion of the body 3 and the extension 6 I place a collar 7 and through this collar and through the upper side of the extension 6, I produce a slot 8 for the reception of the finder key 9. The lower end of this finder key enters a slot 1.0 in the finder bar 1.1. In the extension 6 and at the extreme end thereof I produce a second slot 12 for the reception of the knife key 13, the lower end of which passes into a groove 1 1- of the knife bar 15. It will be noted that these grooves in the extension 6 are arranged transversely or directly opposite to each other, the groove 8 being on the upper or top side and the groove 12 on the lower or bottom side. These grooves which may be more correctly considered splines are of a length greater than the adjacent length of the separate keys, and the keys are free to be reeiprocated in these splines for a purpose that shall appear later.

The finder bar 11 is flat for a great portion of its length, and has a finder formed at one end. The end opposite which is cylindrical is provided with a screw thread and a longitudinal slot or spline which serves as a guide for the knife. The knife and finder are capable of indepemlent operations longitudinally by the reciprocation of their respective keys, which cause the inner ends of these separate devices to be raised or lowered at the will of the operator. It will be seen from Figs. 3 and 4; that each of these keys is arched so as to span a nut, the nut adjacent to the finder key being indicated as 16, and the nut adjacent to the knife key being indicated at 17, but it will be observed, however that each of the keys 9 and 18 is provided with two bridges, one extending across at the top and one at the bottom of each key. The lower bridge of each key is intended to enter the groove or spline in a part adjacent in such a manner that the nut may freely revolve over the bridge and for the purpose of inserting the keys I produce a slit in each nut from the outer edge to the center perforation as shown at 18 in Fig. 5. The nuts are also provided with a series of perforations arranged between the axial center and the outside edge as shown at 19 and I provide pins 21, that are adapted to be inserted into the perforations 19 to afford a means for close adjustment and careful work, although i iave shown but one pin in each nut, it will be understood that 1' may use two or more pins arranged in. holes 19 as may be found convenient or desirable by the operator.

So far I have described the construction of my device and although the operation of similar devices is well understood T will however briefly detail it in connection with my present invention.

The instrument being assembled as shown in Fig. 1 the operator inserts it and holding the plate 20 between the fingers turns the nut 16 slightly withdrawing the finder bar 11 and forcing upward the finder ausing it to project out of the probe 1. The tubular member 3 is then carefully withdrawn so as to determine the length of the stricture that it is desirable to sever after which the finder may be depressed by a reverse motion of the nut 16, and the tubular. member returned to its original position now by turning the nut 17 through aportion of a revolution and thus reciprocating the knife bar 15 the knife is caused to project out of the probe, and a similar motion of the tubular member 8 se-vers the stricture after which the instrument can be withdrawn and the ordinary treatment continued. My device is so constructed that during this operation the keys areheld reliably in place and are always met by guide walls of su'tiis cient height and strength to insure that they will be held in a position exactly radial to the axial line of the knife and finder bars. The keys cannot loosen and fall away nor can they be forced out of position by the operation of any of the separate parts of the device.

The improvements are particularly important in an instrument intended for operations as delicate as those that this device will be used in, and I desire it understood t at I do not claim the probe, the knife, the

finder or the plate 20 preferring to confine myself to the separate keys and the means for guiding them and the peculiar nuts and the means by which I obtain the close adjustments.

hllodifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the principle or sacrificing the advantages of this invention.

Although I have constructed all of my parts of a superior grade of steel taking care to harden and temper certain of the parts that appear to require it, it is obvious that other metals may be used for the separate parts if such use would develop an advantage not here found.

The thread on the screw-threaded parts is triple thread of a high pitch, but it is ob vious that single or even double thread. might be used but I prefer the whole as shown and described.

Having carefully and fully described my invention wnat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described having a tubular member, provided with an enlarged portion, a screw-threaded portion and a spline extending through said enlarged and screwthreaded portions, and a key operable through said spline for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination with a sound of ordinary construction and having certain movable parts of a plurality of keys for alining said parts each of said keys being arched, and a plurality of nuts operable upon said movable parts and through said keys and said arches as herein specified.

3. The combination of a sound with ordinary construction and having certain movable parts and a plurality of split adjusting nuts for operating said movable portions of said sound as herein specified.

1-. A surgical instrument having a tubular member one end of which is enlarged and screw-threaded and provided with plurality of longitudinal splines, a knife and finder operable in said tubular member, said finder being provided with a longitudinal spline, and arecess and said knife being provided with a longitudinal recess, keys adapted to enter the splines through said tubular member to be received in the recesses in said finder and knife, and nuts operablethrough said keys, saidv nuts being adapted to reciprocate said knife and said finder by the rotation of said nuts and the movement of said keys as herein specified.

A surgical instrument having a finder and a. knife member, nuts adapted to operate each of these members and keys adapted to transmit a motion from said nuts .to the first mentioned members, said keys extending on four sides of each nut adjacent thereto as herein specified and for the purpose set forth.

6. An instrument of the character described having a plurality of movable parts each provided with a groove, nuts for moving said parts, and keys actuatedthereby and operable in said grooves, each said key being provided With a forward extension entering a recess in a part adjacent to efliciently guide the said parts and retain said keys in radial alinement as herein specified.

7. A surgical instrument having a finder and a knife adapted to be reciprocated independently of each other, a split and per forated nut for reciprocating each said part and a key having a central perforation through which a portion of said nut is adapted to operate a portion of said key extending over said nut, a portion down each side of said nut and a fourth portion connecting the two said extending through the of said nut, and pins adapted to enter the perforations or slits in said nuts and cooperate with the adjacent keys to limit the extent of rotation of each said nut as herein specified.

Signed at New York city, in. the county and State of New York this 29th day of April 1913.

THOMAS ALBERT HOPKINS.

Witnesses:

Gr. E. Srnnnrrrn, ARTHUR PI-IELrs h IARR.

axial perforation Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

side portions and. 15 

